The Birds And The Bees Part 27

'h.e.l.lo, Adam,' said the smiling red lips of the last person in the world he expected to see.

Stevie pulled into the gym car park next to a red Golf. Jo had a red Golf, although it was hardly likely to be her car, thank goodness. At least in the gym Stevie was spared the sight of her destructive beauty, daring her to confront Jo with what she had done. Stevie had once purposefully confronted Linda and come off worst, and vowed she would never again sacrifice her dignity like that, but if she b.u.mped accidentally into Jo MacLean she couldn't guarantee that her primal instincts wouldn't take over, leading her to launch herself at her rival and punch her treacherous, lying face in. She wanted to hurt her more for what she had done to her son's life than her own. It was just as well it wasn't Jo's car, after all.

She transferred the burst of energy that her sudden fury had triggered off in her by managing to do a fifteen-minute run on the treadmill, her best yet. She had grown to like coming to the gym. The physical exercise of running cleared her headeven if it was on a rubber belt indoors and not in the fresh air and the suns.h.i.+ne. Having such a sedentary job, she needed to get her heart pumping a bit more, although it had been on an emotional treadmill that had made it pump quite enough recently. At least it would all be over soon. One way or another.

Matthew had always been smiling in the old days when they had been together. Now every time Stevie saw him, he looked totally miserable. Crazy, really, when he had everything he set out to get. Jo didn't look much happier, either. She was always scowling, which was warped because Stevie had nothing she wanted. Jo had Matthew and his house and, with a snap of her fingers, she could have had Adam and his big house back. She couldn't imagine that Jo was jealous of her figure and short legs, so if she wasn't happy with the lot she had created for herself, then she could rot in h.e.l.l as far as Stevie was concerned. Some people just wanted what they couldn't have, until they got itonly to find they didn't want it after all.

She had a quick shower and went back to her car to find that the red Golf had gone, and that someone had sc.r.a.ped their key viciously along her driver's side door.

When Matthew got home, Jo was still in bed. She looked really ill actually, pale and puffy-eyed, from a lot of crying.

'You need to take tomorrow off work too,' he said, soothing her brow.

'No, I need to go to work tomorrow more than anything,' she said, shrinking away from his hand. 'Please, Matthew, just leave me alone.'

And so he did.

'Guess what? Mum got stinged last night,' said Danny, flinging himself at Adam as he came in through the door.

'Yes, I know, I was there,' he said, attempting a smile, but he felt so tired, so drained.

'Come on, Danny, let Adam get in through the door,' said Stevie, pulling him gently away.

'Honey is bees' poo.'

'Danny!'

'That's what Curtis Ryder says. And milk is cows' wee. Mrs Apple Crumble made him sit on the naughty chair today for trumping in storytime.'

'Mrs Abercrombie did the right thing then, didn't she?'

Despite his far from jolly spirits, Adam let loose a lion's-lungsworth of laughter. It felt so good to laugh, he needed to laugh and it felt even better to be home with a family, even though it wasn't his home or his family. Nevertheless, he was grateful for the welcoming presence of a child and the warm no-nonsense of a woman.

'I don't know where they get these ideas from,' said Stevie crossly.

'Well, that Curtis Ryder has things a little wrong there,' said Adam. 'Bees make honey for food, and they have been doing so for millions and millions of years. They collect pollen as food for their young.'

'Wow!' said Danny.

'Chicken nuggets!' Stevie alerted her son to the table. Was it her imagination, or had Adam MacLean given special emphasis to certain words just then? She had only seen the man for five minutes today and already she wanted to slap him.

'So, any mair news from Midnight Moon?' he casually asked later, whilst checking the television page.

'No, why would there be?'

'I have no idea why there would beee.'

Stevie put down her sewing. Danny's collars were getting ruined but there would be h.e.l.l on if she threw this pyjama top away. It was one she had converted from an ordinary blue top to Dannyman super-pyjamas.

'Why are you looking at me as if you want me to buzz awf?' asked Adam with an angelic smile.

'You know, don't you?'

'Know what?' He looked so much the picture of innocence he should have been hung in the National Gallery. Or was it 'hanged'? Either sounded good to Stevie.

'Okay, I write Midnight Moon trashy, c.r.a.ppy romance books for a living. Satisfied?'

He jumped back in mock surprise. 'Naw!'

'I presume Crystal said far more than you admitted.'

'Perhaps. I seem to recall an extra minor detail or two.'

'Yes, I can imagine. Anyway, you may not like them, Mr MacLean, but thousands of other people do!' What was it about the man that got under her skin so much? He was the human equivalent of ringworm.

'I'm sure they do.'

Commonsense told her to walk away and go to her office. His mocking was attracting to him the anger that was swirling inside her for Jo; for her scratched car; for Matthew's pathetic unhappy face; and most of all for Adam b.l.o.o.d.y MacLean because she couldn't stop thinking about his lips on her arm. All afternoon her imagination had been taking those lips and putting them on other places on her body, and she didn't know why but she couldn't seem to stop herself. This wasn't in 'the plan'. But she did not walk away from his baiting. She not only took it, but she stuck her teeth into it too.

'In fact, I don't know why I didn't tell you before. It's not as if I should be ashamed. There's a skill involved, unlike managing a place where people pay an obscene amount of money just to lift up heavy objects and sweat!'

Oh, she wants to fight, does she? he thought, crossing his arms and preparing for battle.

'So, is that all I do then? And there was me thinking I work quite hard for my money.' He knew the next bit would infuriate her, but he didn't care. He was enjoying the verbal parry. It was making him forget all about the visitor who had weighed down his head for most of the day. 'Well, at least I don't sit on my b.u.m all day.'

'Me sitting on my b.u.m all day has put money on the table to feed my child. Yes, I'm a Midnight Moon writer and I'm proud of it!' Stevie jutted out her chin and nodded her head by way of an exclamation mark.

'I'm sure sad people all over the world appreciate you.'

This, unfortunately, didn't come out quite as his gentle teasing had intended, adding a pint of petrol to her already blazing temper.

'Yes, sad people with a brain who can do joined-up lettering! You patronizing Scottish git.'

She had a silly smattering of freckles on her nose. He had the sudden desire to kiss them. That would shut her up.

'I was trying to give you a compliment actually.'

'Stick your compliment up "yer ers", Mr MacLean,' said Stevie. 'I don't need compliments from a man like you.'

'And what sort of a man am I, Ms Honeywell? I see we're back on formal terms again.'

'The sort of man that I can't wait to see the back of on Sunday! I'm going to work. Good night,' and off she went in the direction of the office, chuntering expletives, to write about Damme MacQueen being thrown off a cliff.

Adam smiled. The angrier she got, the funnier she was, but as soon as Stevie left him, his thoughts started to drift back to the afternoon and a life that felt a million light years away from this crazy set-up. A life he had the chance to go back to. A life with a beautiful house and a beautiful woman in it. The life he had fought to win back. The life he surprisingly found he had won back.

So what was it that was stopping him?

Chapter 46.

Unless a miracle happened in the next twenty-four hours, Adam's prophecy that all would be settled by Sunday was not going to come true. Matthew and Jo were very much still together, although a sneaky few spying looks in the mornings had revealed that they weren't half as hand-holdy or snoggy as they used to be, and there was even less smiling going on than at Princess Diana's funeral.

Adam had started gathering up his stuff and sorting out his laundry. His undies were drying on the linethey were white and Calvin Klein. Matthew was more of a briefs blokeblack and designer label also, but they paled into s.e.xual second place as soon as she saw those white boxers. Matthew's b.u.m had been a bit skinny for Stevie's tastes; Adam's was quite chunky. Not that she'd looked at it much. Well...

They hadn't seen a lot of each other in the last few days. He hadn't been in the house much, and when he had, Stevie had found herself avoiding him, shutting herself away in her office to work. Damme MacQueen was a good manmisjudged, kind, and wonderful. He didn't beat up women and he was safe to love. Evie was going to be a lucky lady.

Adam had deliberately been coming home after Danny had gone to bed, for which Stevie was grateful. It was going to be bad enough having to uproot her son again to find yet another place to live, without finding out he'd got attached to 'Well Life Man' too. It all felt terribly scary and unsettling, and she was cross at herself for believing Adam MacLean could really get them reunited with their rightful partners. He might not have been Mystic Meg, but he had her hopes up so high, the only way was down and they were coming down fast. It was something else to blame the man for.

'Can I do anything to help?' he asked, as she stomped around the kitchen, making a big noise as she transferred the crockery out of the dishwasher into the various cupboards.

'No!' she said. Then softer, 'No thanks.'

'Why the bra.s.s band?' he asked as the pans crashed together as she put them away.

'Because I want to.' Yes, she sounded petulant and she expected him to make some sarcastic comment. He didn't disappoint.

'Do you want to throw a few of your toys aroon as well while you're at it?'

'No, thank you.'

'Watch that bottom lip afore you trip o'er it!'

'Not listening, sorry.'

'I'll get you a teddy that you can throw oot your cot and make yersel' feel better.'

'Very funny. Ha ha!'

'Ah, so y'are listening! Maybe you need burping. Want me to pat your back a wee bit?'

She cast him a look that tried to kill him. She would like to have screamed at him to b.u.g.g.e.r off, but Danny was on his bicycle in the garden so she couldn't. She was finding that the pressure of keeping her feelings in was making her blow steam out of her earholes, so she rough-handled the crockery instead and dropped one of the nice plates which crashed to the floor, spattering the pieces everywhere.

'Och, now you'll have to pay for that oot your pocket-money!'

That's it!

She turned on him. 'Everything's a big joke to you, isn't it?'

'No, it isnae. But pretending you're at a Greek wedding isn't going to bring Matty Boy back to you any quicker. And there's no use snapping at methis isnae my fault.'

'Isn't it?' Stevie laughed, a hard unjolly sound. 'This situation is all because of you, Adam MacLean. All!'

'Okay, stop there,' said the sensible part of her brain, looking around for the brake, whilst in the meantime, her mouth carried on in fifth gear.

'I've lost my home and my man, and my little boy has lost his chance of a family. You might have thrown your relations.h.i.+p away, but I didn't. Make no mistakethis all happened Because. Of. You!' She barged past him to get the cutlery, not noticing that the highly amused and gentle teasing smile had dropped like a hot rock from Adam's lips and he moved quickly to block her way.

'Whoa, whoa! Now you ho'd on a wee minute, lady. I need you to rewind this conversation. What was that bit about throwing my relations.h.i.+p away?'

There was something in his manner that made Stevie realize she had gone too far and was on dangerous territory, but there was no taking it back.

'Nothing, I meant nothing.' She moved to skirt him and he moved with her and put his hands on her arms to pull her back in front of him. The startled little yelp she gave made him drop his hold immediately.

'Sorry, did I hurt you?'

'No,' she said, because he hadn't, but he saw in her eyes a flas.h.i.+ng thought that he might. That fear. He knew that look so well. He had seen it in his mammy's and his sisters' eyes so many times.

'What's going on, Stevie? What's happened? What did you mean?'

Stevie wouldn't meet his eyes.

'Please, Stevie!' He was desperate now to find out what she meant. She knew something about him that he needed to know. That look she had given him scared him. 'What am I supposed to have done in my relations.h.i.+p that all this was my fault? Pleasewhat did you mean? What do you know? What have you heard? You have to tell me now.'

He wasn't going to let up on this, she knew. She slumped down on the kitchen table. She wasn't sure what was true or not any more, but at least she wasn't about to add to the mess by lying herself.

'It's what Jo told us about you.'

'Jo?' He paled. 'You spoke to Jo? When?'

'Lots of times.'

'What do you mean?'

Stevie sighed. It was like trying to get an octopus back in a bag. She wouldn't be able to do it. It would be better to let it all out and stop struggling against it.

'Matthew and Jo got friendly at work,' Stevie began.

'Aye, I know. You two weren't getting on.'

'What?'

'That's what Jo told me. That you two were going through a rough patch.' He didn't see the need to tell her that apparently she was also dirty and lazy and a terrible mother. She would spontaneously combust.

'Jo said what?' Stevie's mouth dropped so far open, it was in danger of crus.h.i.+ng her foot. 'G.o.d, this just gets better and better. We were fine! The reason he befriended her is because you...you...made her unhappy!'

'In what way?' Now it was Adam's turn to look shocked.

'She never stopped crying! I felt so sorry for her.'

'You met her?' He was breathless.

'She rang for Matthew one day, too scared to go home to you. I told her to come around to the house.'

'Scaredof me? What on earth for?'